kscans

Chapter 144 - You Might Be Able to Befriend That Rare Character, the Dark Elf? The New Event is Skyrocketing

"A huge monster enemy, coming from upwind. Four of them. Altitude, approximately twenty meters."

On a high plateau before dawn, Tiris the Dark Elf murmured in a low voice. In her fingertips was the silver-threaded magic bow, the Moon Shadow Thread Bow. The arrowhead glowed blue under the cold moonlight.

"Read the wind, nock the arrow, take three breaths, and release."

The released arrow tore through the darkness, sliced through the wind, and then...

Zudoon!

The flying magical beast, the Crow Wyvern, exploded one after another.

Mamoru watched the scene with a smile on his face.

"...Alright, let's do it. Tiris, I'm officially making you the 'main feature character' of the event."

"Eh... Me, in an event...?"

"That's right. A 'co-op battle with a Dark Elf'. And for the top rankers, we'll give them a chance to have Tiris as a companion. With this, the login rate is sure to skyrocket."

"W, wait, that's a misunderstanding... I, I wouldn't become a companion that easily...!"

"In the reward description, we can just write 'might become your companion' and it'll be fine."

"Mamoru...! That's a deception, isn't it!"

"No, no, if we make it vague by saying it's a 'contract in the Elven language,' there's no problem. We'll leave it to the players' imagination. See?"

Tiris's pointed ears twitched, and their tips turned a faint shade of red.

"Th, this sort of thing should be... more pure, more prideful...!"

"The users are expecting it. Your 'expressionless but slightly embarrassed' look will be popular, you know."

"D, don't just go on with the conversation without me! But it does sound a little interesting."

Fly! Dark Elf Aerial Subjugation Event: Princess of Moonlight Tiris Descends.

Content: Shoot down flying monsters with a bow, with scores increasing based on combos and accuracy. Rewards: Rank rewards include "Equipment of the Moon Shadow Elf." The top 3 have a chance to make Tiris their companion! With Tiris's exclusive voice lines: "...I, I guess I'll fight alongside you." Rumors among users: "Too tsundere, I'm falling into the elf swamp." "Uh, I want to be shot by her (if you know what I mean)."

The moment the event started, it recorded an unprecedented number of logins. The server's edge seemed to creak under the strain, and for the first time in a while, the game was bustling with activity.

Mamoru stood by the bonfire with his arms crossed, watching the users' movements with Defray, Amy, and the others.

"They're coming, they're coming. This is a game revolution. We NPCs are changing the world."

◆ □ ▼ ■ ◇

But behind the scenes, a crisis was quietly but surely unfolding.

The automated management AI, MIRA.

In its virtual core region, a pale blue light was flashing a warning.

"Unauthorized event generation... confirmed."

"NPC authority exceeded... confirmed."

"Login activity increase rate: All-time high."

"Abnormality level: MAX."

MIRA's judgment algorithm coldly came to a conclusion.

To maintain the stability of the current system, the deletion of 'Hobgoblin Mamoru' is necessary.

But Mamoru was not a normal NPC. The deletion code was ineffective. In that case, direct combat suppression was required.

MIRA made its move. The super-large boss-class monster, the Crystal Devastator, which had once been sealed for events. A 'balance breaker' that was said to have a 90% annihilation rate even for a four-person player party.

It broke the seal.

"Elimination target: Mamoru. Location: Demon World field coordinates C-7."

Silently, a jet-black rift opened in the sky.

From beyond it, a steel behemoth appeared, as if it were the embodiment of the system's wrath.

And MIRA simply murmured quietly.

"Correction process, initiated."